Mechanism utilized to adjust inclination angle and horizontal rotation angle

ABSTRACT

A mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle and a horizontal rotation angle of a unit includes at least one pressing plate and at least one supporting portion. The pressing plate is disposed inside an installing space, and a curved surface of the pressing plate includes a first fixture. The supporting portion is disposed on the unit at a location corresponding to the pressing plate. The supporting portion includes a second fixture, fixing to the first fixture of the pressing plate to determine the inclination angle of the unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle and an horizontal rotation angle, and more particularly to a mechanism for engaging a supporting portion of a unit with a curved pressing plate to decide the inclination angle of the unit.

2. Description of the Prior Art

To provide convenience to users, display panels disposed on machines or portable devices are configured to offer viewing angle adjustments or horizontal rotation in order to view the information displayed on the display panels from any angle or at any position. Conventional flip cellular phones and laptops have hinges disposed between the screen and the main body of the housing for rotating the screen with respect to the main body of the housing. The structure of the hinge is complicated, however, and the cost of the hinge is high. Besides, the conventional hinge cannot adjust the viewing angle of the screen and horizontally rotate the screen at the same time. Therefore, the present invention provides an adjusting mechanism different from conventional hinges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One objective of the invention is to provide a mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle and a horizontal angle of a unit at the same time in order to overcome placement limitations of the unit. The structure of the mechanism is simple, and the mechanism can be mass mold produced, solving the problems encountered by the prior art effectively.

A mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle and a horizontal rotation angle of a unit is provided according to an embodiment of the invention. The mechanism includes at least one pressing plate and at least one supporting portion. The pressing plate is disposed inside an installing space, and a curve surface of the pressing plate includes a first fixture. The supporting portion is disposed on the unit at a location corresponding to the pressing plate. The supporting portion includes a second fixture, fixing to the first fixture of the pressing plate to decide the inclination angle of the unit.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle of a unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary connection between the mechanism and the unit shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the assembling relation between a pressing plate and a base according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the relative positions of the supporting potion and the pressing plate while adjusting the inclination of the unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle of a unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a mechanism utilized to adjust a horizontal rotation angle of a unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the present invention employed in a machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, electronic equipment manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “include, but not limited to . . . ”.

Please refer to FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle of a unit according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary connection between the mechanism and the unit according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a unit 110 is situated in an opening at the center of a housing 120. The two sides on the bottom of the housing 120 corresponding to two sides of the unit 110 are each fixed to a base 130. The base 130 is hollow and has an installing space 140 formed therein. It should be noted that although the base 130 is locked onto the housing 120 by a screw 135 according to the embodiment, the connection between the base 130 and the housing 120 is not limited to the screw 135. Moreover, the base 130 can be an extension of the housing 120 or can be a solid shaped to fit with the housing 120. As long as the bottom two sides of the housing 120 corresponding to two sides of the unit 110 each have an installing space 140, any connection means are permissible.

A pressing plate 150 with a curved surface is disposed in the installing space 140. The curved surface has a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of indentations forming a first fixture similar to a wave-shaped structure or a gear shape. FIG. 3 is an embodiment showing the assembly relation between the pressing plate 150 and the base 130. As illustrated in FIG. 3, there are two first assembling portions 310 on one side of the pressing plate 150. In this embodiment, the first assembling portion 310 is a pillar. The base 130 has two second assembling portions 320 at the locations corresponding to the first assembling portions 310, respectively. In this embodiment, the second assembling portion 320 is an opening. The pressing plate 150 is fixed to the installing space 140 of the base 130 by inserting the pillars 310 into the corresponding openings 320. The openings 320 have a particular outline for guiding the movement of the pressing plate 150 while adjusting the inclination angle of the unit 110. For example, the vertical size of the opening 320 is bigger than the vertical size of the pillar 310, which ensures that the pressing plate 150 can be fixed on the base 130 in a vertically movable manner. It should be noted that the numbers, locations and shapes of the first assembling portions 310 and the second assembling portions 320 illustrated in the figures are embodiments of the present invention but not limitations. Additionally, in an alternative design, the first assembling portion 310 can be configured to be an opening, and the second assembling portion 320 can be configured to be a pillar; the same objective of installing the pressing plate 150 into the installing space 140 is achieved.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 again. Two sides of the unit 110 corresponding to the pressing plate 150 have supporting portions 160, respectively. The supporting portion 160 has a second fixture comprising two protrusions for determining the inclination angle of the unit 110 by wedging the supporting portion 160 into the indentations on the pressing plate 150. In addition, an elastic unit 170 (e.g., a spring) is further positioned between the base 130 and the pressing plate 150 to provide an elasticity force pushing the pressing plate 150 toward the supporting portion 160 for maintaining contact between the two.

As shown in FIG. 4 (for convenience, the base 130, the housing 120 and the elastic unit 170, etc. are omitted in FIG. 4), while applying an external force to the unit 110 to change the inclination angle of the unit 110, the unit 110 moves from the location shown by the dotted line to the location shown by the solid line. Because the pressing plate 150 is fixed on the base 130 in a vertical movable manner, the protrusions of the supporting portion 160 are pushed to the next indentations of the pressing plate 150 in the direction shown in FIG. 4 and are wedged into the next indentations to fix the unit 110 at this new particular inclination angle. In this process, the elastic unit 170 maintains the contact between the pressing plate 150 and the supporting portion 160 by an adjustable elasticity to alleviate a lack of tactile response due to the housing weight difference or other reasons while the user is changing the viewing angle. In addition, the flexibility of the elastic unit 170 will reduce the friction between the protrusions of the supporting portion 160 and the indentations of the pressing plate 150, and will reduce the damage of the pressing plate 150 and supporting portion 160, effectively extending the life of mechanism. Therefore, in this embodiment, the minimum adjustable inclination angle A is determined by the distance between protrusions on the pressing plate 150. When each successive protrusion on the pressing plate 150 corresponds to a 10-degree rotation, the unit 110 can be adjusted by 10 degrees at one time in this embodiment.

It should be noted that the structure of the supporting portion 160 is simply one exemplary embodiment of the present invention but not the limitation. In other embodiments of the present invention, the supporting portion 160 wedges into the indentations of the pressing plate 150 with only one protrusion, or the second fixture comprises at least one indentation part wedged with the protrusions of the pressing plate 150. In another embodiment, the supporting portion 160 comprises a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of indentations, forming a fixture similar to the wave-shaped structure, and the first fixture of the pressing plate 150 comprises at least one protrusion or at least one indentation for wedging with the wave-shaped fixture of the supporting portion 160. In yet another embodiment, the protrusions and indentations of the supporting portion 160 or the pressing plate 150 are not limited to being in a wave-shaped structure. Additionally, the present invention is not limited to having supporting portions 160, installing spaces 140, bases 130 and pressing plates 150 disposed at both sides of the unit 110. In another embodiment of the present invention, the mechanism can be configured to have the above-mentioned components positioned at one side of the unit 110, and a conventional inclination angle adjusting mechanism (e.g., a typical hinge structure) applied to the other side of the unit 110. These alternative designs also belong to the scope of the invention.

Besides, the elastic unit 170 is not limited to be placed between the base 130 and the pressing plate 150. In another embodiment, the elastic unit 170 is configured to be situated between the base 130 and the supporting portion 160. As shown in FIG. 5, an elastic force is provided to the supporting portion 160 in order to keep the pressing plate 150 in contact with the supporting portion 160.

FIG. 6 shows a mechanism enabling the unit 110 to rotate horizontally according to an embodiment of the invention. The housing 120 (i.e., an inner housing) has a plurality of snaps 610. An outer housing 620 (e.g., a housing of a machine employing the unit 110) surrounding the housing 120 has fillisters (not shown) for guiding the snaps 610 into or out of the outer housing 620. After the snaps 610 are in the outer housing 620, elastic fragments or other means are implemented to prevent the snaps 610 from rotating back to the locations where the fillisters are disposed, in order to fix the housing 120 to the outer housing 620 in a moveable way. For example, the outer housing 620 has at least one blocking board 630. The blocking board 630 blocks the movement of a snap 610, thereby controlling the rotation angle of the housing 120 with respect to the outer housing 620. Because the unit 110 is connected to the housing 120 via the supporting portion 160, the pressing plate 150 and the base 130 (not shown in FIG. 6), the unit 110 rotates horizontally while the housing 120 rotates. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the present invention employed in a machine according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the unit 110 is a display panel (e.g., a liquid crystal display panel) of the machine 620 for displaying operation information of the machine. As shown in FIG. 7, the inclination angle of the display panel 110 can be adjusted according to user's demands. In addition, the housing 120 is a round plate that can be rotated horizontally. The display panel 110 horizontally rotates while the housing 120 is rotating. Thus, the present invention allows any desired viewing angle setting of the display panel 110 while the display panel 110 is horizontally rotating. It is convenient for a user at any position around the machine 620 to operate the disclosed mechanism and obtain the desired viewing angle of the display panel 110, thereby overcoming the placement limitation of the machine 620.

Similarly, the number and shape of the snaps 610 and the blocking board 630 are simply for illustrative purposes, but not meant to be limitations of the present invention. Another variation of the embodiment is that the outer housing 620 has a plurality of snaps, and the housing 120 has a fillister and a blocking board. This also enables the unit 110 to rotate horizontally.

Known from the above embodiments of the present invention, the inclination angle is decided and adjusted via wedging the pressing plate 150 with the supporting portion 160, and the snaps configured on the housing 120 or on the outer housing 620 enable the unit 110 to rotate horizontally. This enables users to adjust the inclination angle and the horizontal rotation angle at the same time. Although the housing 120 shown in the figures is a round plate, the invention is not limited to it. The housing 120 may have other shapes and may not be limited to surround the entire unit 110. The unit 110 is, of course, not limited to being a display panel. That is, the present invention can be employed to adjust the inclination angle and the horizontal rotation angle of any units. Besides, the housing 120, the base 130, the pressing plate 150 and the supporting portion 160 can be made by plastic material, saving more cost than conventional hinges under mass mold production.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. 

1. A mechanism utilized to adjust an inclination angle of a unit, comprising: at least a pressing plate, disposed inside an installing space, wherein a curved surface of the pressing plate includes a first fixture disposed thereon; and at least a supporting portion, disposed on the unit at a location corresponding to the pressing plate, including a second fixture disposed thereon for engaging with the first fixture of the pressing plate to determine the inclination angle of the unit.
 2. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the first fixture comprises a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of indentations, and the second fixture comprises at least one protrusion or at least one indentation.
 3. The mechanism of claim 2, wherein the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of indentations form a wave-shaped structure.
 4. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the second fixture comprises a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of indentations, and the first fixture comprises at least one protrusion or at least one indentation.
 5. The mechanism of claim 4, wherein the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of indentations form a wave-shaped structure.
 6. The mechanism of claim 1, further comprising: a housing; and a base, fixed to the housing, comprising the installing space disposed therein.
 7. The mechanism of claim 6, further comprising: a first assembling portion, positioned at one side of the pressing plate, and a second assembling portion, positioned on the base at a location corresponding to the first assembling portion; wherein the pressing plate is fixed in the installing space through the first assembling portion and the second assembling portion.
 8. The mechanism of claim 7, wherein the first assembling portion is fixed on the second assembling portion in a moveable way, the mechanism further comprising: at least one elastic unit, disposed in the installing space, for providing an elastic force to maintain contact between the pressing plate and the supporting portion.
 9. The mechanism of claim 8, wherein one of the first and second assembling portions is an opening and the other of the first and the second assembling portions is a pillar inserting into the opening; and the opening has an outline for guiding movement of the pillar.
 10. The mechanism of claim 6, wherein the housing comprises an inner housing surrounding the unit and an outer housing surrounding the inner housing.
 11. The mechanism of claim 10, wherein one of the inner housing and the outer housing comprises a plurality of snaps, and the other of the inner housing and the outer housing comprises a fillister for guiding the plurality of snaps into and out of the outer housing or the inner housing to thereby fix the inner housing to the outer housing in a moveable way.
 12. The mechanism of claim 11, wherein the fillister comprises at least one blocking board for blocking movement of a specific snap of the plurality of snaps to control a rotation angle of the inner housing with respect to the outer housing.
 13. The mechanism of claim 6, wherein the housing, the pressing plate and the supporting portion are made of plastic material.
 14. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the unit is a display panel. 